Fred Taylor (physicist)

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Professor Taylor in March 2016

Fredric William Taylor (24 September 1944 – 16 December 2021) was a British physicist and academic. He was Halley Professor of Physics Emeritus at the University of Oxford,[1][2] where he lived until his death.

Early life and education[edit]

Taylor was born 24 September 1944 in Amble, Northumberland, England.[3] His father, William, was a joiner who had been wounded in World War II, and his mother, Ena, was a teacher. In 1949, the family moved to Howick, Northumberland.[4] He was educated at The Duke's School, then an all-boys school in Alnwick.[4][5] He studied physics at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.[6] He then undertook postgraduate research in atmospheric physics at Jesus College, Oxford under the supervision of Sir John Houghton, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree.[4][6]

Academic career[edit]

In 1970, Taylor joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology.[4][7] He was principal investigator for the first experiment into the meteorology of the atmosphere of Venus, building an instrument for the Pioneer Venus Orbiter that launched in 1978.[6] Arriving at Venus in December 1978, this included the first British-built hardware to travel to another planet.[8] He was also involved in the mission that sent the unmanned spacecraft Galileo to study Jupiter and its moons.[6]

In 1980, he returned to Oxford University where he became Professor and Head of Department.[4] Under his leadership, the Group was involved in space missions to study the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Titan, as well as Mercury, the Moon, and a comet.[9] In 1999, one of the Oxford projects placed the first British-built hardware on the surface of Mars, albeit unwittingly.[10]

Taylor was the author of twelve books on atmospheric and planetary physics.[11][12] In September 2011, he retired from full-time academia and from the Halley Professorship of Physics.[7] He died on 16 December 2021.[3]

Selected works[edit]

Academic
  • Taylor, Fredric W. (2001). The Cambridge photographic guide to the planets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521781831.
  • Lopez-Puertas, Manuel; Taylor, Fredric W. (2001). Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium in Atmospheres. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-9810245665.
  • Taylor, F. W. (2005). Elementary climate physics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198567332.
  • Coustenis, Athena; Taylor, Fredric W. (2008). Titan: exploring an earthlike world (2nd ed.). Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-9812705013.
  • Taylor, Fredric W. (2010). The scientific exploration of Mars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521829564.
  • Taylor, F. W. (2010). Planetary Atmospheres. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199547425.
  • Vardavas, Ilias; Taylor, Fredric W. (2011). Radiation and Climate (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199697144.
  • Taylor, Fredric W. (2014). The scientific exploration of Venus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107023482.
Personal
  • Taylor, Fred (2016). Exploring the Planets: A Memoir. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199671595.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Fred Taylor: A glimpse of my own future, and a girl to boot". Times Higher Education. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ^ "David Bates Medal: Prof Fred Taylor". European Geophysical Union. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b Read, Peter; Pierrehumbert, Ray (1 June 2022). "Fred Taylor". Astronomy & Geophysics. 63 (3): 3.11. doi:10.1093/astrogeo/atac033. ISSN 1366-8781.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Stargazing fans, meet Amble's own space man". The Ambler. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  5. ^ "The History of The Duke's Middle School". The Duke's Middle School, Alnwick. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "F. W. Taylor". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Fred Taylor". Department of Physics. University of Oxford. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  8. ^ Taylor, Fredric W. (2014). The scientific exploration of Venus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107023482.
  9. ^ Taylor, Fred (2016). Exploring the Planets: A Memoir. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199671595.
  10. ^ Taylor, Fredric W. (2010). The scientific exploration of Mars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521829564.
  11. ^ "Professor Fred Taylor". Jesus College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  12. ^ See his comment underneath http://www.theambler.co.uk/2012/03/05/mapping-the-world-and-beyond/
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